At the center of three unusual and complicated development transactions involving former Rep. Jeremy Durham investigated by The Tennessean is Don Russell Cameron III, an at-times controversial real estate developer.

Public records reviewed by The Tennessean show Cameron sold land to Durham and others in a set of housing transactions that real estate attorneys have described as very unusual compared with a typical pattern used by large-scale developers.

In a brief interview, Cameron refused to answer questions for this story about the transactions and about Durham.

Born in 1953, Cameron is proud of his Williamson County lineage, which he says dates to the early 1800s. “My family built the first home in Franklin,” Cameron told The Tennessean in 2010.

Cameron owned the land before selling it to Durham, who later transferred the property to a home-building company owned by Chad Whittenburg, a Spring Hill alderman.

Cameron described Whittenburg as a “good friend.”

Whittenburg said he had established relationships with investors including Durham. He said Cameron was not involved in finding investors.

“I think there may be some insinuation that Don Cameron lined these people up – no,” Whittenburg said.

Cameron said he would not discuss transactions involving Whittenburg and the investors, saying, “It’s all a matter of public record.

“Everything’s done above board,” he added.

The three transactions involving Durham and Whittenburg examined by The Tennessean are just a handful of real estate transactions Cameron is involved in today.

Prison

Despite business success, the Camerons haven’t always had it easy.

In 1959, when Don was just six years old, his father, Don Cameron Jr., was one of five liquor store owners called before the state revenue commissioner to answer charges that they helped supply whiskey for a multimillion-dollar bootlegging operation based in East Tennessee.

The elder Cameron, who operated a liquor store in Franklin, was questioned after audits indicated he had significant sales to well-known bootleggers who were selling liquor in dry counties. The state’s investigation into the senior Cameron and others came after a series of stories by The Tennessean examined bootlegging. The state ended up revoking Cameron’s license to operate.

In 1962, the elder Cameron and the proprietors of two other Williamson County businesses were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of selling whiskey wholesale without paying the proper sales taxes. The indictments were later dismissed because the county was no longer dry.

The younger Don Cameron attended Battle Ground Academy, an expensive private high school in Williamson County. Prior to graduating in 1971, he was involved in the school newspaper and on the wrestling and cross country teams.

The following year, in 1972, Cameron and his father applied and received an application to operate Granny White Wine and Spirits in Nashville.

Since then, Cameron has expanded his footprint in business, eventually growing into real estate development in the 1980s, when he and his brother began Cameron Properties.

In 1989, Cameron helped develop the first city sewer lines into a residential neighborhood in south Williamson County when he was developing an area that today is the Campbell Station neighborhood.

In December 1990, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Metro police and the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office raided the brothers’ homes, as well as 13 establishments in which the Camerons’ Franklin-based company, C&C Amusement Co., operated video poker machines.

The investigation netted more than $200,000 in cash, gemstones, 60 bars of silver, along with 44 video poker machines.

In 1991, the brothers were sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to operating an illegal gambling business, money laundering and evading the Internal Revenue Service.

Don, who was 38 at the time, was sentenced to five months in prison and five months in a halfway house. Tim, who was 36 at the time and headed up the business, was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

In 1983, the brothers were convicted of state gambling charges, according to The Tennessean archives.

Land troubles

As a result of his trouble with the feds, Cameron’s business deals suffered.

In April 1991, a 221-acre property owned by Cameron was auctioned off for $950,000 after he defaulted on a mortgage loan that was financed five years prior by Betty B. White, the former owner of the property.

That same month, First Tennessee Bank foreclosed on a $4 million mortgage on the Cameron’s 174-acre development in Oakhall. A month later, Sovran Bank sold two foreclosures for $933,000 on 278 undeveloped acres in Williamson County after the Camerons defaulted on loans.

On Nov. 2, 1992, Cameron became a free man once after having serving his time in federal prison and a halfway house. He had defaulted on $5.8 million in loans.

But, in October 1994, Cameron began dabbling in real estate, selling a property in Murfreesboro for $154,000, according to The Tennessean’s archives.

In September 1996, Cameron Properties purchased a property located south of downtown Franklin for $350,000 from Tractor Supply Co. That same year, the company also took out ads to market commercial condos they owned in Fairview.

The Camerons’ business rebounded and the brothers joined the Franklin/Williamson County Chamber of Commerce in January 1997.

Six months later, Cameron Properties purchased more than 60 acres for a property in Franklin for $420,000. In 1997, the Camerons bought an industrial park in Franklin for $400,000.

Cameron’s modern real estate development in Spring Hill kicked off in June 1999 when the Spring Hill board approved Cherry Grove, an undeveloped subdivision which was expected to have more than 200 homes ranging from 7,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet within a 70-acre area.

At the time, The Tennessean noted that the development was Don Cameron’s 15th overall.

Since then, Cameron has been involved in developing Cameron Farms in Spring Hill, Copperstone in Brentwood and McLemore Farms near Goose Creek Bypass.

Cameron and politics

Aside from his real estate developments, Cameron has been politically active.

Since 2004, he has donated more than $12,000 to a variety of state lawmakers and candidates running for office, according to state records. He has given contributions to Gov. Bill Haslam, Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Sen. Jack Johnson, as well as Reps. Charles Sargent and Glen Casada, all of Franklin. Cameron donated to former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat.

Cameron has never given money to Durham, according to campaign disclosure forms.

Cameron has also given more than $3,000 to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, among other federal candidates, according to records.

Additionally, Cameron has contributed to local elections, including Jeff Long who was running for Williamson County Sheriff in 2008.

Cameron served as an officer for a Franklin-based political action committee - Citizens for Balanced Government - in 2007. The PAC described itself as being “dedicated to supporting candidates that want to preserve the historic beauty of Franklin while realizing the importance of responsible growth and development of our community.”

In 2005, officials at the University of Tennessee disassociated Cameron from the university for two years after he was investigated for improperly contacting a men’s basketball recruit and as a result was banned from contributing money to the school for two years.

Two years later, Cameron was the victim of a night time robbery at his home. According to the Williamson Herald, two men - one of whom was armed with a gun - approached Cameron after he arrived home about 10 p.m. The first man, who was masked, ordered Cameron to the ground, stripped him of his clothes and duct-taped him before entering the house. Cameron, who said at one point he thought he heard a blow torch being lit, told police the men stolen about $4,500 from him.

In 2013, Cameron sued a woman in Spring Hill for $250,000 after she called him a “criminal” on Facebook. The court dismissed the libel claim but the case remains pending.

He has been sued several times, including in 1998 when the city of Franklin took Cameron Properties to court.

Cameron also had a personal run-in with the law in 2013, when, according to Williamson County court records, he failed to stop at the scene of an accident and resisted arrest. He was represented by Durham. Prosecutors later decided not to pursue the case.

Note: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the name of a financier.